Wichita eagle., 1887-05-13
A PISTOL FACTORY.
GATLlNGS, SHOT GUNS, ENGINES
AND TYPE SETTING MACHINES.

Rife on the pump" Principle-New
Feed for the Calling Gun-A Big Shot
Gun-The Thorne Typesetter's Peculiar.
tiles.
In the spring of 1861 the writer was an EN-.
ploye at Colts shop, and having leisure
hour the other day visited the shop Through
the kindness of an old friend he was given
permission to inspect the factory and note
the changes and improvements that twenty.
| five years have wrought. In 1861 pistols and
rifles were made. Now, in connection with
the improved rifles and pistols, are manufact-
ured the famous Calling guns shot guns,
Baxter and Disc engines, Thorne's type set
ting and distributing machine, Waterhouss
electric dynamos and lights, screws, etc.
The Colts self cooking double action pis-
| tolls are too well known to need any descrip-
ton, and perhaps the same may be said Of
the new lightning magazine rifle, which
works on the pump principle similar to the
Spencer gun, and which are called in sports.
mans parlance, stomach pumps" Fifteen
shells can be placed in the magazine and fired
very rapidly, while the perfect mechanism OF
| the rifle prevents clogging and insures per-
| feet safety The reputation of the Colts
| shot gun is too well established to need any
| recommendation. The new hammerles5
double baIreled gun is now in geat demand
especially among sportsmen who enjoy trap
shooting, and the best scores made at thess
matches are won with the Colt gun. While
| we point with pride to our superiority over
| other countries in our mechanical and manu-
| featuring establishments, it is somewhat
humiliating to be told that the barrels for all
{l1ra tod in, 1pb Stafa
that none of them are made in this country.
These barrels come singly, and the soldering
and fitting up is done here, SO that all guns
ere ranged to shoot alike.
THE "CEoKE BORE"
A great improvement over the old fash
toned shot gun-and especially is this SO for
clay pigeon shooting-is the choke bore. This
consists in boring the barrel SO that it is
much smaller at the muzzle, and the shot
do not scatter, as in the straight bore. Many
Of these guns are made to order and choked
to suit the fancy of the purchaser From
500 to 400 is the usual number selected.
Perhaps an explanation would make this
more ineligible to the majority of your
readers, and means simply that the gun as
tested at the armory viii at a distance of
forty yards in charge of one and one eighth
radius of thirty inch circle
One Of these guns was recently ordered, to
weigh twelve pounds, and it will stand q
charge Of five drains of powder and two
ounces of shot a miniature cannon, which
ought to give the owner decided advantage
in trap shooting over one with light gun,
using only the regulation charge of three
drains of powder and one and one eighth
ounces of shot.
The Calling gun is constantly being i'm
proved and through the kindness of one Of
the firm we were shown the latest improve
ments. Some sizes of the guns have two
feeds, and are so constructed that one hun
dred shots can be fired in two and one half
seconds. One can scarcely believe this unless
he has seen it, as it seems impossible that the
cartridges can be placed in the gun, fired
and extracted so rapidly. A new feed has
been invented, by which the loading canister
can be dispensed with and the cartridges slid |
from the box into two slots, which hold |
them by the rim till they fall into the grips,
which carry them into the chamber
THORNE TTPESETTER.
The Thorne typesetter is to one interested
in new machinery the most attractive and
peculiar machine now made in the shop.
And by the courtesy of Mr.. Joseph Thorne,
the inventor, we were shown its entire |
peculiar workings. This machine has been |
recently described, but many improvements |
have been added, and the working of the |
machine is now said to be qJsite perfect. The |
size of the cylinder has been increased, and |
eightytwo letters, figures and characters |
used by the printer can be placed in one |
machine. The inventor claims that with !
two men and a boy to feed in the type the
work equals that accomplished by six men in
the old way; or that by this machine 700
ems can be set up in eight minutes.
All the type used in Gen. Logan's book |
was set up with one of these machines
They cost s., 900, the indexing and fitting in
of the guides for the nicked combination on
The type requiring a large amount of skilled
and exact labor. To operate the machine re-
quireS only the same skill and practice needed
to successfully run a typewriter.-Cor
Hartford Times